The Work Is Only Beginning on Understanding the Human Genome

Ten years ago, scientists released a map of our genetic blueprint. But, as Eric D. Green explains, there are many more mysteries left to unravel
June 03, 2013 | By Elizabeth Quill

What Genomic Research Can Tell Us About the Earth's Biodiversity

Smithsonian scientists are gathering wildlife tissue samples from around the world to build the largest museum-based repository
June 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Eric Green

Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute
May 20, 2013 | By Smithsonian Magazine's "Future Is Here" Conference

Amazing Sea Butterflies Are the Ocean’s Canary in the Coal Mine

These delicate and stunning creatures are offering Smithsonian scientists a warning sign for the world's waters turning more acidic
May 14, 2013 | By Hannah Waters

Creepy or Cool? Portraits Derived From the DNA in Hair and Gum Found in Public Places

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg reconstructs the faces of strangers from genetic evidence she scavenges from the streets
May 03, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

The Story of How An Artist Created a Genetic Hybrid of Himself and a Petunia

Is it art? Or science? With DNA, Eduardo Kac pushes the limits of creativity and ethics
February 22, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

Can Your Genes Predict When You Will Die?

New research suggests we can defy genetic destiny
January 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Pardis Sabeti, the Rollerblading Rock Star Scientist of Harvard

The recipient of the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for natural sciences blazed a new view of how to treat infectious diseases via genetics
December 2012 | By Seth Mnookin

Sinfully Delicious Apples That You Should Never Try to Eat

Inspired by the work of Cornell scientists, Los Angeles-based Jessica Rath creates sculptures and photographs of the autumn fruit
October 05, 2012 | By Megan Gambino

Genetics Lab or Art Studio?

DNA 11, based in Ottawa, has built the first high-tech genetics laboratory devoted solely to art making
September 06, 2012 | By Megan Gambino

How Olympians Could Beat the Competition by Tweaking Their Genes

The next horizon in getting that extra athletic advantage may not be steroids, but gene therapy
August 06, 2012 | By Larry Greenemeier

Resurrecting the Czar

In Russia, the recent discovery of the remains of the two missing Romanov children has pitted science against the church
November 2010 | By Joshua Hammer

Cracking the DNA Code

On a small island near Washington, D.C., Smithsonian researchers have found a genetic code that could revolutionize botany
August 2009 | By Megan Gambino

High Hopes for a New Kind of Gene

Scientists believe that microRNA may lead to breakthroughs in diagnosing and treating cancer
July 2009 | By Sylvia Pagán Westphal

Evolution in Black and White

The alternative color forms of some animals are providing new insights into how animals adapt and evolve
February 10, 2009 | By Sean B. Carroll

The Perils of Bird-Plane Collisions

When airlines want to investigate dangerous bird strikes against planes, they turn to the head of the Smithsonian’s Feather Identification Lab
January 16, 2009 | By Sarah Zielinski

Gene Therapy in a New Light

A husband-and-wife team's experimental genetic treatment for blindness is renewing hopes for a controversial field of medicine
January 2009 | By Jocelyn Kaiser

How Breast Cancer Genes Work

Though we may talk of cancer as one disease, skin cancer has little in common with pancreatic cancer and breast cancer is something else entirely
October 2008 | By Sarah Zielinski

The 'Secret Jews' of San Luis Valley

In Colorado, the gene linked to a virulent form of breast cancer found mainly in Jewish women is discovered in Hispanic Catholics
October 2008 | By Jeff Wheelwright

Clan-Do Spirit

A genealogical surprise led the author to ask: What does it take to be one of the family?
September 2008 | By Jake Halpern

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